


We Could Be Fire

by microphonechecker



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Flirting, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Underage Drinking, Warning for bad Justin Bieber jokes, a lot of it, but it's only underage because they are in America like they are 20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-10-17 07:01:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10588860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/microphonechecker/pseuds/microphonechecker
Summary: “Sorry, JB made me late.” Jackson says with a laugh, obviously joking but Jaebum feels an urge to defend himself. He doesn't though, simply waving at the other three who are expectantly staring at him.“Justin Bieber?” A guy with obnoxiously blond hair asks and that finally makes Jaebum speak up.“That didn’t take long, very funny, never heard it before.” He rolls his eyes a little, but gives the guy a crooked smile still.All the attention shifts from him to the less obnoxiously blonde lying on the chair in a matter of a second, when he laughs loudly. A dorky, shrieky, childish laugh, that makes his entire body spasm. Jaebum feels a weird need to laugh with him, the smile he is still sporting highly contagious.“I like him. He can stay,” the guy declares amidst laughs and sits down lazily, offering Jaebum his hand. “I’m Mark.”-Or the Stanford AU no one asked for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's me once again! 
> 
> This is actually the first GOT7/Markbum I started working on, though it wasn’t the first one I posted.  
> It's a pretty pointless story about Jaebum's first friends in America and how one of them actually becomes more than a friend. 
> 
> Again, even though I don't really use twitter, you can hit me up at [x](twitter.com/markbumcentral) if you wanna talk.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it!

" **PARTY TONIGHT!** " reads the flyer that just got passed under Jaebum's door, the loud voices filling the hallway. Students happy for the weekend shouting incomprehensible words that drifted away while he skimmed through the rest of it. Mostly out of curiosity, as he was definitely not going to any parties tonight. 

The party is being hosted by the football team and the entrance fee is $5 to h  _ elp with the alcohol, but exceptions could be made for girls  _ and he rolls his eyes at that. There’s also the address and a phone number at the bottom, but it doesn’t matter much as he has no interest. 

His night will consist of one of his books, all unpacked and ready to be started with and maybe he could cook something himself, if there weren't a lot of people around the kitchen down the hall.

He goes back to his bed but doesn’t lie down, sure he would fall asleep if he did, ruining his week of adjusting his sleep to his new west coast time zone. The thought, though bittersweet because he could use a nap, makes him break out a small smile.

It’s a little surreal still that he is finally there, he thinks, in Stanford, ready to start a new life. Jaebum looks then at a picture of his parents he had set up by the window, near a cactus that he got so his room wouldn't look so dead and smiles briefly, before picking up one of his worn out copies of Poe and thumbing through it.

He lost count of how many times he had read The Tell Tale Heart, that one inspiring so many of his filming projects in high school and it held a special place in his heart, as it was the first book he read fully in English and barely struggled with. It marked a huge step towards his future and it only made sense that he’d reread the story now that he is settled in California.

-

A couple hours later, he wakes up to a loud noise near his bed and tumbles to the floor, a little disoriented and confused to his whereabouts, until he realizes the book had fallen down from his lap. It isn’t dark outside yet but a peek at his phone tells him it is closer to the evening than the afternoon, justifying his grumbling stomach.

Getting up, he doesn’t make any efforts to change from his sweatpants and worn out black shirt, only picking up a package of ramen and a bowl from the drawer he had separated for food and then heading out.

The hallways aren't as crowded as earlier in the day, without the loud guys and people heading in and out with books and giant travel coffee mugs, much like he had done earlier. His only company now being two girls entering one of the rooms, laughing quietly while holding hands, that makes him stare dumbly at the closed door for a couple seconds, and a boy looking way too close to fighting the vending machine at the end of the hallway and that promptly catches his attention.

"You are supposed to press that red button first," Jaebum says when he closes by, but doesn’t stop. He laughs quietly when the boy groans and opens the door.

He is not usually one to talk to strangers, but the kid was about to kick the machine and he doesn’t want to be a witness to public property destruction. 

"Yeah, thanks!" He hears before the kitchen door closes behind him. He sets his ramen package on the counter, happy that only one other person was there but too busy eating and with headphones to care about his presence, and starts looking for the things he needs. 

He finds the boiler easily, filling it with water and turning it on. While he waits, he checks around the kitchen to see where everything is and how things work. A couple papers glued to the walls with rules, nothing he thought that even needed to be said because what kind of person would leave dirty containers around a public kitchen? Or listen to loud music in a shared room? But it seemed to be cause for concern in Stanford. 

The door opens but it never closes again, even though he is sure the other guy who was inside left. He turns back, just in case he needs to close it because it got stuck on something, only to find vending machine boy standing in front of him, now holding a can of Diet Coke and a chocolate bar. 

"Hi," the boy says with a bright smile. "I'm Jackson." 

Jaebum takes a deep breath, pressing his lips against each other and nods. 

"JB," he replies with a forced one. It's not that he wanted to be rude, the contrary even, but he had several reasons for not wanting to befriend anyone right now. 

The strongest one being that all he wanted was to eat in peace. No one talking, no annoying noise and Jackson surely seemed the type to not allow him to have a quiet moment with his noodles.

“So, you are new here?” The small talk starts as expected but Jaebum is able to control his urge to laugh easily, and before he can think twice, his mouth opens and he blurts the first escape route he could think of.

“Sorry, I don’t… English.” He cringes at himself after that, sure that he could’ve thought of a better excuse not to make friends, but his thoughts are quickly interrupted by a loud laugh coming from Jackson, one that makes his whole body move and head hang back.

“Is something funny?” Jaebum asks a little petulantly and hates himself right after, the sentence not quite adding up to his previous one.

“Nah, dude, but your English seemed fine when you tried to be a smartass on the hallway,” Jackson smiles crookedly and winks, making a blush takeover Jaebum’s body completely. He looks down, biting his lip and shrugs. “If you don’t wanna talk it’s cool, but you don’t need to lie yeah?”

“No, no… I’m sorry that was awful,” He starts, actually feeling a weird sort of guilt now. Which is unjustified and stupid, actually, because he doesn’t know the guy and wasn’t looking forward to, but still when he looks up, despite his smile, Jackson’s eyes are sort of offended. “I didn’t mean to be rude or anything, I’m just bad at this.”

“This?”

“Yeah, making friends…” Jaebum scratches his neck, eyes wandering around trying to avoid eye contact because now Jackson was a couple steps closer, the door finally closing behind him, now that his body couldn’t stop it anymore, which makes Jaebum feel trapped.

“You are kinda shitty yeah, but no problem! Lucky for you I am great at that.” Jackson says in a playful tone, touching Jaebum’s arm lightly.

“Lucky!”

“Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, JB”

“But the highest of intelligence,” Jaebum actually laughs then, shaking his head a little.

The boiler starts making its annoying noise seconds after, providing Jaebum with a little escape from that close proximity. He turns it off and dumps the contents of the ramen package inside of it, mixing it a little before closing the lid again.

“So JB, tell me about yourself before I make you a great offer,” when he turns back, Jackson is smiling softly, eyes pleased with his no punchline joke, but his face showing genuine interest.

“I’m probably gonna say no, but my name is Jaebum, I go by JB since I can remember, I’m 19 and just moved here from South Korea.”

“Oh!” Jackson opens a new smile, a different one that Jaebum isn’t able to give a meaning to just yet. “I’m from Hong Kong, so we are basically neighbors.”

“Really? Thought you were American because of your accent and… everything else.”

Jackson laughs loudly again, this time startling Jaebum a little. He bites his bottom lip again, still unsure if he was being made fun of or not, but something about Jackson indicated that he was just this way.

“Been here for a couple years, but definitely not American.”

They stay in silence for a minute or so, Jaebum moving around with his food that was now ready and sitting down at the table. Jackson finishing his Diet Coke and throwing it at the nearest trashcan, also taking a seat even though he only had an unopened chocolate bar on his hands. The silence continues as Jaebum starts eating, when Jackson abruptly stands up.

“So I’ll get out of here and let you to eat now, but are you going to the football party tonight? I can give you a ride.”

“No way, not my kind of thing,” he shrugs, raising his eyebrows in the process. “But you can stay, I don’t really mind.”

So he stays, but contrary to Jaebum’s previous suspicions, he doesn’t talk much. He eats his chocolate mostly in silence, only asking Jaebum about his degree and what made him choose Stanford. Turns out, a full scholarship was the reason for both of them to be there and they share some laughs about it.

As Jaebum cleans the kitchen, leaving as spotless as he first found it, Jackson asks again about the party, receiving a simple no as an answer, which makes him laugh at the quickness of it. He really was looking forward to going back to his room, reading a little and then falling asleep, even if the prospect of having someone who understands his struggle of moving out from home and starting brand new is interesting. They could probably exchange numbers, or something. There was really no need to shove himself into a wild college party so quick.

They are leaving the kitchen, Jackson first, when the door swings shut and hits him straight in the nose.

"What the fuck" Jaebum swears, walking a couple steps backward and hands rushing to his face, making sure there was no blood anywhere.

"Oh shit." Jackson opens the door again and is now all over him, hands touching his shoulders and face a bit too close for comfort, as he examines the damage. "I'm so sorry, shit. Are you okay?"

Jaebum takes a deep breath, he is not annoyed, not really, but Jackson's overreaction makes it hard not to burst out laughing and his face is a bit sore. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry." 

“I thought you had the door and didn’t hold it. Fuck” He is kinda desperate, his face earnest and scared.

“Relax, it’s fine. I’m in one piece still.”

“I really didn’t mean to damage your pretty face, dude.” 

Jaebum blushes a little and says nothing, the way Jackson said those words making him feel giggly. He is not attracted to him, not really, but he can admit deep down that he is handsome, in a boyish way and Jaebum was done pretending that cute boys did nothing to him.

"Come on, I need to repay you for that. Let me take you to the party tonight." Jackson continues, stopping the physical contact but looking up at Jaebum with huge puppy eyes. 

"I don't... You don't have to repay me for anything." 

"Come on, you can meet my friends. You just got here, you need friends," Jaebum rolls his eyes at that, but Jackson is obviously not easily stopped. "It's gonna be fun, I promise and if it's not, I can just drive you back." 

"Fine." He says begrudgingly, when Jackson is pouting and he can't take anymore begging. "But less talking and I need to change my clothes." 

"Great! Meet you at your room in 20 minutes?" 

He doesn't really want to give Jackson's his room number, mostly for privacy because he doesn't want to have him, or anyone really, coming over, bothering him at all times he feels bored but a part of him is still untrusting of the boy's eagerness to be friends. It's silly, but there is not much he can do. 

"Hmm, we can meet here? I wanna buy a chocolate bar before we leave." 

"Alright! 20 minutes or I will go after you, JB. Don't go missing on me." 

He isn't sure what that means, so he simply laughs before waving and walking down the hallway, leaving an excited Jackson behind. Jaebum messes with his hair a little, a weird feeling on his belly that can only be described as anxiety and when he opens his door and is finally inside, he throws himself in bed, face down on the pillow. 

It's gonna be fine, he knows that. It's just a party, he can smile at people and he doesn't have to make conversation if he doesn't want to. Maybe if he’s lucky there will be a dog he can hang out with.  Then he can ask Jackson to drive him back before it's too late and his bedtime is too messed up with.

He gets up and puts on the ripped jeans his mother hates and a simple white shirt and grabs his leather jacket from the chair where it’s thrown. With one more shuffle of his fringe in front of the mirror, he thinks he doesn't look too bad and opens the door only to see Jackson leaving the room across the hallway. Great.

It’s gonna be fine, he repeats inside his head.

-

The short drive was mostly uneventful, they made some more small talk, Jackson quickly taking liberties to tease Jaebum about several things. Not knowing anything about american football being one. He promises Jackson he will attend to a football game as the year goes by, but he doubts he will follow up on that.

Getting to the house, though, changed all the relaxation to anxiety. The house was big, and there were groups of people outside, some at the door talking and the music loud enough to be heard from the next block, where Jackson parked his car. It was no small celebration and the huge welcome back sign, in Cardinal red, hanging from three of the second floor windows only made him a lot more sure that he was going to regret coming.

“Stay with me.” Jackson simply says, picking up a couple boxes from the backseat before heading to the house. He says hi to several people as they walk, some girls excitedly waving at him but simply receiving smiles back.

“Are you on the football team?” Jaebum asks, because frankly, everyone seemed to know him.

“Nope!”

“Are you a celebrity? Why do you know everyone?” He asks rushedly, walking a bit faster to keep up with Jackson.

“Fencing squad, and I’m a social guy.”

As they get to the door, there are two guys collecting money from anyone who tries to come in and handing red cups out. Jaebum laughs quietly at the cliche at the same time one of those is shoved into his hand.

“He’s with me, Anthony.” Jackson says with a wink. “New kid, collected him at the dorm.” The guy at the door, who was apparently called Anthony, laughs loudly and turns to Jaebum.

“Welcome, bro. Don’t let him corrupt you.” Jaebum raises his eyebrows and bites his lips, not even sure how to answer to that.

“Hey!” Jackson, who now has his hands free from the boxes thanks to some other two giant guys taking them, shoves Anthony a little. “Fuck off.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Anthony looks inside and then back to Jackson. “Mark and your boy were looking for you already. Think they’re by the pool.”

“And there’s a pool…” Jaebum whispers to himself, but by the way Jackson looks at him funnily he assumes it was louder than expected.

Jackson and his friend exchange a couple more words, laughing at something Jaebum can’t understand and then he is being dragged inside, empty cup still in hands and facing a sea of people dancing and screaming. He swears he sees some people playing beer pong in one of the corners and he laughs at that as well. He was stuck inside American Pie and no one told him.

When they are finally outside, it looks less chaotic even though the music is still way too loud for his taste. There are some girls sitting with their feet inside the pool, sipping from their cups and talking non stop, but they are headed to a group of boys excitedly laughing while lounging some big chairs, one of them even lying down, totally not in a party mood, even though he had a drink in hands.

“Look who’s decided to join us…” One of the boys say, pulling Jackson straight to his body by the arm, making him fall on his lap.

“Sorry, JB made me late.” Jackson says with a laugh, obviously joking but Jaebum feels an urge to defend himself. He doesn't though, simply waving at the other three who are expectantly staring at him.

“Justin Bieber?” A guy with obnoxiously blond hair asks and that finally makes Jaebum speak up.

“That didn’t take long, very funny, never heard it before.” He rolls his eyes a little, but gives the guy a crooked smile still.

All the attention shifts from him to the less obnoxiously blonde lying on the chair in a matter of a second, when he laughs loudly. A dorky, shrieky, childish laugh, that makes his entire body spasm. Jaebum feels a weird need to laugh with him, the smile he is still sporting highly contagious.

“I like him. He can stay,” the guy declares amidst laughs and sits down lazily, offering Jaebum his hand. “I’m Mark.”

“JB.” He smiles and sits down next to Mark, when he offers a space of his chair to him.

“The asshole one is Brent, and he actually has a Justin Bieber obsession,” Mark laughs again when Brent gives him the middle finger. “That’s Luke and the one treating Jackson like a baby is Jinyoung.” He points to the other two guys, one sitting right next to them drinking from a red cup paying no attention to him, and the other, who still had Jackson on his lap, smiling warmly.

“Hi everyone…” He tries again but everyone starts speaking at the same time and he is barely able to make out anything from it.

“Jackson says you are from Korea too?”

“Why are you not drinking anything?”

“How did you meet Jackson?”

He doesn’t know where to look at first, but Jackson’s loud voice catches his attention. His face is so pleased, mouth open in a big smile and eyes wide, when he starts talking full of excitement, as if it was the greatest story ever told.

“I hit him with a door after he stopped me from breaking the vending machine.”

Mark, who was now in the middle of pouring some beer on Jaebum’s cup, stops halfway with a huge grin taking over his face.

“You did what now?”

“He hit my face with a door, yeah.” He snorts and sets the cup on the table. He doesn’t want to say no, but he also feels weird drinking know that he isn’t supposed to do so here.

All of them laugh, with the exception of Jinyoung who looks at Jackson horrified and then hits his left arm, scolding him playfully. Jackson shrieks and pouts, followed by a shared laugh and Jaebum can’t take his eyes off them.

“Great first impression,” he hears from right below him. When he looks back at the voice, Mark is once again lying down, but has now his whole body turned to the side facing both Jaebum and Brent, completely ignoring the other two and Luke, who was now getting up and leaving.

“Have had worse ones,” he laughs. Which isn’t a lie since his roommate back in his first college semester in Korea was messy and loud, and he also met a lot of assholes earlier in the week, during orientation. “He even got me a chocolate bar after.”

“Sounds like Jackson.” Brent says, but his attention is somewhere else at the door that leads back into the house. “Children, I’m being called inside. See you later?” He says to Mark, who smiles softly in return and nods.

Brent collect his cup and one of the half full beer bottles from the table and half waves goodbye. After that, they fall into an awkward silence. Jackson, now sitting on his own chair, and Jinyoung in their own little world, talking excitedly about whatever and Mark just staring up at the sky, sipping on his cup without a care in the world.

Loud song after loud song ends, groups of people coming and going, screaming nonsensical things and even some girls all over Jackson and Mark at one point stop by, while Jaebum just stands there taking it all in. After the fourth bad Kanye West song plays in a row, he decides he is leaving. He grabs his phone, tapping on the screen a couple times to open the app so he can call a car, but a hand in front of the screen stops him.

“Now, that is not gonna happen.” Mark says, promptly removing his hand.

“What?” Jaebum raises an eyebrow at him, doubting he could be persuaded to stay but he lets Mark try anyway.

“Can’t let you leave. We are doing a fucking terrible job of making you have fun, aren't we?”

“This is just not my scene.” He mumbles and feels something weird inside as Mark’s expression shifts from bored to a soft smile.

“Can I try to guess what your scene is?”

-

About an hour later, Mark had wrongly guessed an array of interests that he thought Jaebum would have apart from cinema. He started with sports, which caused to laugh loudly and stating that he was good in a few things but sports was definitely not one.

Then, his list got progressively more ridiculous. From hunting to coin collections, going through people watching and painting. Jaebum knew Mark was purposefully avoiding regular topics such as writing and photography, but his silly suggestions made up for great conversations and enough laughs to have his cheeks hurting.

“You haven't had anything to drink all night.” Mark says as he pours another beer for himself, his cheeks red and eyes half closed, indicating that he was on his way to drunk.

“I'm not old enough to drink alcohol here.” He explains sheepishly.

“None of us are though.” Mark giggles, extending his own cup to Jaebum, who blushes instantly, but still takes it and sips the cold liquid. “No one is gonna arrest you for some underage drinking, not when it's a football party at least, so if that’s your worry...”

“Still.”

He knows Mark is just trying to be nice, treating him like any other friend and it almost makes him feel guilty for being short, but when Mark shrugs and continues drinking normally, Jaebum smiles shyly at him.

-

“Theme is beauty and it’s such a simple concept, so that’s why I didn't want to make it complicated.” Jaebum explains to Jackson and Jinyoung. Mark excused himself and went inside a few minutes before and wasn't back yet, but Jinyoung quickly replaced him.

Turns out he is studying theater and wants to be a movie actor, so he has a lot to talk about with Jaebum.

They are both excitedly sharing things about their first classes of the year, Jaebum explaining about this initial project one of his professors assigned so they could know more about their own filming styles.

“So what did you decide to shoot?” He hears Mark before he sees him, but he sits down across Jaebum, his back resting on Jackson’s right arm.

“People.”

“People?” Jackson asks, expression confused and Jaebum bites his lip, a small feeling of anxiety creeping up his body. Disapproval not being on the list of things he deals well with.

“Yeah, just normal people. Some of my classmates, some random people I’ve filmed at parks and on the street.” Jaebum says a little too fast, a little too low.

“A project about beauty and you are using people? That’s a little shallow, isn’t it?” Jackson insists and Jaebum’s face turns red again, his eyes falling to the ground.

He can see from the corner of his eyes that Mark punches him on the waist and he hears Jinyoung calling Jackson’s name in reprimand.

“It’s not about outside beauty,” he murmurs. Jaebum stops and thinks about the words he wants to say carefully, really hating that he has to explain this. “People are really interesting. They are passionate and feel so many emotions at once, and sometimes they don’t feel nothing at all, so it’s like about the beauty of a normal person, living their own life. Sometimes doing things they love, sometimes just getting by.”

His eyes go up to Mark’s face, when his feet kicks Jaebum lightly on the shin. He is smiling and gives Jaebum a little encouraging nod when he stops talking, as if he is telling him to go on.

“A frustrated classmate doing art, but not the way they want compared to a happy little kid running after her dog in the park. Or a homeless man singing to the sky, while businessmen and women are running around, without barely finding time to breathe. Both are beautiful, in different ways. Because the homeless man might have nothing, but he still finds things to be happy about. The same doesn't always happen with people who have everything, their power is only material.” He says almost in one breath, his fingers playing nervously with each other and one of his rings. “I want to showcase the beauty of how complex and at the same time mundane humans can be.”

When he looks at Jackson and Jinyoung, not being able to stare at Mark’s warm and supportive smile anymore, both of their expressions scream that they are impressed. Jinyoung looks thoughtful, a little  _ wow  _ escaping his mouth, while Jackson has one eyebrow raised.

There is a silence that follows in the group, Drake’s voice and the rest of the party basically a background noise. Jackson is the first one to talk, making all of them laugh loudly and something inside Jaebum go warm with happiness.

“Why do I feel like this is the most I will ever see you talking?”

-

Jaebum is alone in a hallway upstairs, it feels peaceful even if the loud thumping of the music and all the voices are still around. The fact that there is no one near him makes him breathe with ease.

He excused himself from the group claiming he needed to find a bathroom, but he’s been standing against the door, resting his head and eyes for the past couple minutes at least.

“JB?” Jaebum’s head snaps to the sound, finding Jinyoung staring at him with a lopsided smile. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I was just overwhelmed down there.” He says truthfully and tries to smile, but he is fairly sure he failed.

“l know the feeling, it's a big change from anything back home,” Jinyoung walks closer to Jaebum, a hand going to his shoulder. “Will you be fine though? Do you need anything?”

Jaebum shakes his head no, now his smile actually showing up. He thanks Jinyoung, who brushes him off easily.

They strike up a conversation about both their majors again, this time mixing English and Korean up. Jinyoung is excited about some project he’s just finished with Jackson’s help, telling Jaebum how happy he is that he gets to act a lot more now, instead of sitting down in lectures about facial expressions and body language.

It's not until he says it, that Jaebum realizes that he is thinking about it.

“By any chance, would you be interested in being part of my video?”

Jinyoung’s face lights up, like a little kid on Christmas day. He nods eagerly, a sweet smile showing up before he covers his mouth with his hands.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

As they discuss the details, they lose track of time. Jaebum says that maybe Jinyoung could just perform a monologue, because that’s something he is passionate about and it would show, improving his video greatly.

They only realize they've been gone for a long time when a guy shows up, telling Jinyoung that Jackson has been looking for him.

“How long have you and Jackson been friends?” Jaebum asks once the guy enters one of the rooms and closed the door. “You seem close.”

Jinyoung opens a huge grin, his face looking half amused and half smug, like he had some great information Jaebum wasn't privy to.

“He is my boyfriend.”

“Oh!”

Jaebum isn't shocked per se, he should've noticed by the way they were whispering and smiling at each other before. Or how Jackson was sitting down on Jinyoung’s lap for a long time, like it was no big deal and they did that often. Or even when Anthony told Jackson that  _ his boy  _ was waiting for him.

“Is there a problem?” Jinyoung’s expression looking at Jaebum isn't harsh, but he can feel he is tense, as he waits expectantly for the answer.

“No, not at all. I'm just slow to pick these kind of things up.”

“You will catch up soon enough.” Jinyoung says with a laugh, shuffling Jaebum’s hair with one hand. He winks at him too, as he walks down the stairs leaving Jaebum a little stunned and confused in an empty hallway.

-

He’s been looking for Jackson around the house for the past fifteen minutes at least, to no success. He bumped into Brent and Luke, asked them and they asked some girl or another they knew and yet, no one seems to know where he and Jinyoung ended up at.

It’s almost 4 a.m and half of the party has cleared now, when he finds Mark again on the phone, laughing at something while sitting by the pool.

“Oh he’s here, just found him,” he says when he spots Jaebum. “Jackson says he forgot you, asked if you want him to come back.”

Jaebum doesn’t think Jackson forgetting him at the party is as funny as Mark seems to, but he grins and rolls his eyes anyway.

“I can get a cab back, no problem.”

Mark hangs up the phone shortly after, passing more messages of apologies from both Jackson and Jinyoung. He keeps trying to hold back his giggles, but he is a little drunk and also he is not the one stuck in a random house.

“Come on, you can sleep over. I’m sure there’s at least one free bed around.” Mark says holding Jaebum’s wrist and dragging him inside, without waiting for an answer.

Jaebum is tired and he doesn’t want to spend money with a cab, so he lets himself and his paranoid thoughts go for a moment and enters the dark room with Mark, who is laughing and at the same time hushing himself.

“I’m drunker than I thought,” he declares lighting up his phone in search for empty beds. Turns out there is only one and Jaebum is the one laughing now, dryly thinking about his lack of luck. “Do you mind sharing? It’s big enough for two, I promise.”

He takes a couple deep breaths and shrugs, just taking his shoes off and hanging by the side while Mark discards the rest of his clothes. Jaebum is glad he can’t see anything in the dark, now that Mark’s phone is off again and when Mark throws himself in bed, making a too much noise for someone as small as he is, Jaebum takes his spot on the side, lying as far from Mark as possible.

It proves to be ineffective, when Mark’s long arms reach around him and pull him closer, whispering a sleepy goodnight.

-

Jaebum wakes up alone. He flings one hand out and feels an empty bed, his disappointment tempered slightly by the still warm sheets. He takes his time in bed to shake off the sleep from his body. He cleans up and heads downstairs, praying he doesn’t run into any of Mark’s roommates. He punches at his phone, hoping that wherever he is isn’t too far from a bus stop only to end up cursing Jackson and his own existence when he finds out his phone is dead.  He’s screwed.

“Hey there!” He hears from behind him when he gets to the front door, his body turning automatically. “Are you really leaving without saying goodbye?”

The small smile playing on Mark’s lips behind the plastic gatorade bottle he is holding lets him know it’s a joke, but Jaebum still blushes a little. His blush has also something to do with the fact that Mark is shirtless, with his jeans hanging so low that you can see the purple underwear peeking out.

“Didn’t see you there. I’m sorry?” He offers with the best smile he can, putting a lot of effort to keep his eyes out of Mark’s chest.

“No worries! So you are leaving?” Mark asks, glancing at his watch for the time and nods to himself, as if it made sense that he was now leaving, which Jaebum finds adorable.

“I got to sometime, don’t I?” He smiles, running a hand through his hair.

It makes Mark laugh, shrugging a little and the movement his bare shoulders make is enough to make Jaebum wince and curse inside his mind, thoughts telling himself to get a grip.

“True! But do you need anything first? Water, juice, cereal?”

“I was thinking about stopping somewhere for coffee, actually.” He says and instantly starts to overthink, hoping it didn’t sound like an invitation.

“Can’t offer you that, as I have no clue if there is any coffee in here or where it’s stored.”

“You don’t know where coffee is in your own house?” Jaebum opens a grin, amused by Mark’s clueless expression.

“Oh,” he laughs in response. “I don’t live here.”

“You don’t live here?” Jaebum repeats as a question.

“Nope! As much of a guest as you are.” Mark says cheerily, as if it should’ve been obvious to Jaebum that they were trespassing.

Jaebum’s eyes go wide instantly and he both wants to close the distance to slap Mark and run as fast as he can.

“Okay…” He breathes and frankly, doesn’t understand how Mark can be so calm, still with a smile on his face. Even if a bit confused now. “I definitely gotta leave then.”

“How so?” Mark puts the gatorade bottle on the counter and retrieves his shirt, putting it on and walking closer to Jaebum.

“You invited me to sleep here last night!” Jaebum exclaims in shock. “In a house you don’t live in.”

“Well, you were going to take a cab all alone at 4 am. There was no need when they had free beds in basically every room.” He says blandly.

“Which is definitely better than sleeping in somebody else’s place without being invited.”

“Technically, we were invited. They didn’t ask us to leave and so we didn’t.”

“This is not how it works, Mark.”

Their conversation is interrupted when Brent comes downstairs, as undressed as Mark was minutes ago, wearing sunglasses inside for some reason and Jaebum is ready to be kicked out. He looks between both and it takes Brent half a minute to even acknowledge their presence, which makes Jaebum’s anxiety skyrocket.

“Morning, loser.” Mark says joyfully when Brent groans, walking past Jaebum like he was not there at all. “How’s the hangover treating you?”

“Is it safe to drink that gatorade?” He mumbles, picking the bottle up and chugging it all down. “I need food too.”

Mark’s laugh is loud and Jaebum can’t stop looking between them, not sure what to do and the only thing stopping him from running now being that he wouldn’t be able to avoid Mark for the rest of the year, now that he had plans with his best friends.

“Can’t fix that for you, was just heading out with JB here because he needs a ride home.”

Jaebum is about to protest, but the prospect of actually leaving is too much to pass so he just waves an awkward goodbye at Brent, who is swearing under his breath about hating Mark for being so cheery after drinking and partying all night.

“Thanks for the beds. See you around!” Mark says and shuffles Brent’s hair before letting out a scream and running from him, when Brent retaliates with a little punch.

“Anytime, but get the fuck away from me with your energy.”

As soon as they are outside, Mark leads the way to his car and Jaebum isn’t entirely sure why he follows, but he does. He isn’t sure why he does a lot of things around Mark, especially knowing him for a little over 12 hours, but he is also not about to dwell on it.

“Penny for your thoughts.” Mark says unlocking his car, a boxy black Range Rover that looks way too expensive to be driven by someone who can’t wear fitted clothes. “You are not mad about sleeping over still, are you?”

“No.” He sits down in the passenger proudly, really just wanting to go home.

When Mark starts driving, Jaebum does his best to ignore his stupid grin, just resting his head on the window and looking outside as the city passes and paying Mark no attention at all.

It’s not until they are taking the highway about 10 minutes later that he raises his head, looking at Mark expectantly. He is pretty sure Jackson didn't drive anywhere near where they were now last night.

“Where are we going?” Jaebum asks, half turning his entire body to Mark.

“Somewhere.” Mark’s grin is back and he taps on the steering wheel a couple times, as if he was planning something evil.

It’s a little childlike and Jaebum would think it’s adorable at any other time. Not now.

“I don't remember agreeing to that.”

“Consider yourself kidnapped then!” Mark’s voice is way too gleeful for someone who’s committing his second crime of the day.

“First underage drinking, then invading somebody else’s home and now kidnapping,” He starts with an amused tone. “And Anthony said I should be careful with Jackson.”

Mark is silent for a second, his expression turning serious and focused, like driving was his only priority right now.

“I am really dangerous, I guess no one told you that?” Mark growls at him, and it only makes Jaebum snort. He was stuck with the most ridiculous person in California probably and he likes it way more than he would ever admit out loud.

“Can I at least charge my phone?” He asks with a grin. “Promise I won’t text anyone for help.”

Mark hands him the chord and Jaebum nods, saying thank you.

When Mark stops the car in the lot, he jumps out quickly and waits for Jaebum near his own door. He has both hands in his pockets, a thoughtful expression on his face and Jaebum has to fight a smile back, as well as questions on the tip of his tongue.

They didn't talk much during the rest of the short drive, both simply listening to the music but Jaebum had so many questions. It wasn't uncomfortable, per se, he just wanted to know more.

As soon as Jaebum catches up to him, he starts walking. Mark offers a timid smile but his mouth quickly returns to the pout he is always sporting. Jaebum thinks he doesn't even realize he is doing it, the act so constant and sweet it has to be unconscious and it makes it all even better. He has to fight a smile himself, but still gets caught.

“What?” Mark giggles, his whole body turning to Jaebum and starting to walk backwards.

“Nothing,” he shrugs, not really sure how to explain that he was staring at his lips and this is the reason he was caught smiling alone. “Watch your steps.”

“Don't worry, mom.”

Jaebum rolls his eyes, refraining from replying to such a childish remark and it only makes Mark giggle more, tripping on his own feet in the process. He stumbles backwards for three steps and then recovers balance, before bending forward with both hands on his knees, laughing loudly with his whole body.

“I told you so.” Jaebum smiles smugly at Mark as he walks a couple steps, stopping to fix Mark’s beanie that moved slightly when he bended and threw his head.

For a second, Mark freezes and it almost makes Jaebum stop too, but then Mark looks at him with his eyes wide open and lips pressed together, face bright and cheeks a little red even, from his laughing fit.

“Oops?” He offers with a shrug and it makes Jaebum lose it then, the laugh he was holding back coming full force in the form of a snort. “There we go.” Mark says, clearly pleased he got a reaction out of him and Jaebum shakes his head.

They go back to a semi silence for the rest of the way, no words said, only Mark still giggling every now and then. When they finally stop, it’s in front of a half full ice cream shop.

“Hope you like milkshakes because that’s what we are getting.” Mark states, getting in line and Jaebum follows him, eyebrows raised.

“I don't get a choice?”

“On the flavor? Yeah! But they make the best milkshakes in town and you gotta try it so you can truly say your Stanford experience started.”

“I will have a strawberry one then, please.”

The horrified face Mark makes is enough to make Jaebum reconsider his entire life, almost deciding against strawberry forever. He looks like a kid, as his eyes widen once again and face contorts, going from pained to an open mouthed perfect ‘o’, but his pride quickly takes over.

“Who likes strawberry milkshake? Who likes strawberry ice cream? Who are you?” Mark whispers dramatically and Jaebum starts getting worried that if he keeps rolling his eyes so constantly, he will get a permanent damage.

“It's the best one.” He says matter of factly and then points to the line that just moved.

“It’s the worst one!” Mark retorts, shoving Jaebum back a little with a flat palm on his chest. “Get away from me.”

He grabs his wallet from his pocket and eyes the flavors once more, before turning to the server and ordering two giant milkshakes, a strawberry one and the other Oreo flavored, in addition to a bottle of water.

As they wait for their drinks, they bicker some more about ice cream. Mark, a huge fan of weird combinations and modern flavors, while Jaebum fiercely defends the sanctity of the simple ones. When their drinks come and they head outside, walking aimlessly down the street, Jaebum is the one horrified, claiming one giant one was too big for two people to share, let alone drink by yourself.

“You’re saying you are not sharing your strawberry monstrosity with me?” Mark teases, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

“Thought you hated strawberry milkshake, Mark.”

“ _ Moooorrrk _ ,” Mark repeats dumbly, giggling on his straw and making a mess of his milkshake all over his lips. He licks it clean and Jaebum almost forgets he is supposed to be angry about being teased, his sanity being tested on a regular basis around Mark since they met.

“Is that not your name?” He asks with a cold stare, sipping on his own straw next.

Mark winks at him then, his smile never leaving his lips and they walk a little more in silence. Jaebum realizes that they weren't really aimless shortly after, when they stop in front of a park, the place is crowded as expected for a Saturday afternoon.

With a few glances at each other, as if making an unspoken agreement, they head for a tree and sit under, trying to avoid as much of the hot sun as they can. Mark shifts his body until he finds a comfortable position, half lying, with his body turned to Jaebum.

“What is it?” He asks suspiciously when Mark starts giggling like mad, staring up at him. He says nothing back, just brings his body closer to Jaebum’s, still with an airy, childish smile taking over his face. “What, Mark?” He insists.

“Can I try your milkshake?”

-

The day flies by, filled with Mark, a lot of teasing and so many laughing fits, as if those things came together as a package and it’s the most fun Jaebum has had in a long time. Mark is really different from what he imagined the previous night and yet, he is almost the same.

He is still quieter than most people, always lost in his thoughts, but he can be loud too. Laughing and screaming about the silliest things, like when a large dog barrelled across the street and hit his leg earlier at the park. He was so happy about making a new friend that even the owners just let him play for a while, his huge smile contagious as he ran and rolled around with the puppy.

Mark also tended to get overhyped about simple things, such as driving up a small hill, that overlooked parts of the city. His energy telling Jaebum about the sunset view, about the pictures he could take if he wanted to and how cool the place was made Jaebum wonder how often Mark felt actually comfortable with someone to just talk and show this side of him.

“Do you come here often?” He asks when they hop on the hood of Mark’s car.

“Alone yes, with people no” He says as he lies back on the hood, both hands supporting his head. “I usually don’t do things I really like too often so they are still cool when I do them.”

Jaebum raises an eyebrow at him, making Mark question him on why.

“That’s kind of a cliche, though.” He explains and Mark laughs at him, shrugging before closing his eyes.

“Promise I don’t tell all the boys the same thing.” Mark whispers after a while in a funny voice and Jaebum punches his arm jokingly.

“After American Pie last night, I guess it is only fair we finish today with another movie cheesiness, watching the sunset on the hill.”

Mark barks out a loud laugh that makes his body shriek again, one of his hands going instinctively to his stomach as he bends up.

“American Pie?” He asks breathlessly.

“Are you gonna tell me that was not the most 90’s or early 2000’s movie party? People were playing beer pong, Mark. Beer pong.”

“It’s a national sport!” He exclaims in false shock, his mouth open for full effect.

“It’s another cliche, that’s what it is.”

“You don’t like cliches, JB?” Mark asks when he stops giggling, body back to his original lying position.

“I don’t like living them, no, but for books and movies they are not that bad.”

They start bickering then about movies genres, Mark a fierce horror fan while Jaebum tells him that’s a lazy thing to make, from an artist point of view. He loves thrillers and suspense, but pure horror is usually plotless and the plot is base for anything.

“Good thing I’m not an artist then.” Mark answers smugly.

They fall into another silence after that and eventually Jaebum also lies down, after taking a couple pictures of the view. They don’t look at good as they would on camera, but he makes do with his phone.

When the sun is almost completely gone, Jaebum starts to feel cold in just a t-shirt and hops off the hood to get his jacket from inside the car. When he is back, he sits a little closer to Mark.

“You met Anthony last night? Mark asks without opening his eyes.

His voice is conversational, but Jaebum can sense he is a little nervous. It’s sweet actually, to look at a closed eyed Mark, his lips pressed in a thin line and his breath a little heavier than it was a minute ago.

“When I got there with Jackson, why?” Jaebum lies down again, right arm bumping into Mark’s as he closes his eyes and loses his sense of space. He doesn’t move though, and neither does Mark.

“Nothing… I mean, he is my ex.” He whispers the second part and his body shifts a little, but remains as close to Jaebum’s as before.

Jaebum canse sense how tense Mark is, but doesn’t exactly know why meeting up with Anthony would be a cause for concern, when Mark himself was at a party thrown by him and his friends.

“He gave me one of those cups and said Jackson would try to corrupt me,” He says after a few seconds of silence, thinking about Mark’s reaction. “Then he also told us you and Jinyoung were waiting for Jackson at the pool and we went inside.”

“Oh, that’s… That’s good.”

“Why are you worried about it?” Jaebum finally asks, turning his body carefully to the side. He is staring at Mark now and he knows that Mark can sense it, if the way his right arm instantly covers his face and a small smile is any indication.

“He is kind of a dick,” Mark explains, making Jaebum snort. He also hums in agreement, encouraging Mark to go keep talking.

Most people are dicks, Jaebum thinks, and Mark is not responsible for the way his ex boyfriend acts around other people at all. Unpleasant people aside, he still can’t understand why Mark got anxious about it in the first place.

“I just didn’t want you to think I’m…” His face is flushed red when he stops talking to lick his lips. “I didn’t want you to think that we are anything like him.”

“Who is we? Jackson, the friendliest person in the world or Jinyoung who is so nice he is basically a mom?” Jaebum asks amusedly. “Or are you just worried about me judging you based on the people you know?”

It makes Mark groan loud, burying his face on his arms even more, still burning red from embarrassment. Jaebum has to control himself not to kiss Mark right there and he doesn’t know where that impulse comes from.

He pokes Mark’s side softly, proceeding to search for his hand between their bodies. He locks their fingers and presses Mark’s hand gently, hoping it would be reassurance enough. Jaebum thinks it works as Mark opens another soft smile behind his arm and squeezes Jaebum’s hand right back.

-

It’s pitch black out now and they are still sitting on the hill, overlooking the city and talking about everything and nothing, on and off as they both tend to fall into sprees of silences every now and then.

Jaebum is impressed with Mark’s ability of not tiring him out, even after spending the entire day together. 

Normally, he’d be running away from whoever after a couple hours, but with right now with Mark, he feels like he could stay for more hours or maybe even another day.

“We should listen to music!” Mark interrupts his thoughts by clapping his hands excitedly.

Mark grabs his phone from his pocket, ignores the notifications on his screen and presses a few buttons until an annoying, yet known melody starts playing.

Jaebum looks at him shocked, mouth hanging open as his hands shove Mark a little to the side.

"You know you love me, I know you care, shout whenever and I'll be there." Mark starts singing along with Justin Bieber, giggling through the entire verse.

He is dancing too, an awkward movement with his arms crossed in front of his chest, punching the air every now and then. It’s both annoying and the cutest thing Jaebum’s ever seen.

"Stop it!" Jaebum almost yells, pained, but he can't hold back his smile when Marks starts screaming the lyrics. 

When the chorus starts, he gets so excited with his choreography that he almost falls to the side of the car. Jaebum is quick to grab his arms though and pull him back, even if Mark makes it hard by laughing so loud his body stops working. 

He falls back on the car, his head hitting the window a little too hard and it makes a noise, to which he pouts and then goes straight back to laughing. 

"My hero..." He tells Jaebum, skipping the song and finally putting something that is not Bieber. 

It's some generic rap song that normally Jaebum wouldn't listen to, but he doesn't really mind.

Their chats eventually die down, but it’s not uncomfortable. Every once in awhile Mark checks his phone, but his attention easily drifts back to the sky, or even Jaebum even though he pretends not to notice that Mark is staring, as he closes his eyes to try to avoid the heat on his face from being observed.

“Should I give you back?” Mark asks about half an hour later, his voice raspy and dark, almost like he was about to fall asleep when he realized they should get going. “Or do you wanna grab dinner? I can drive you to the dorms then.”

“You don't live there?” Jaebum raises an eyebrow at him.

“Nope!” Mark pops his  _ p  _ loudly and shrugs. “About dinner?”

  
“I could eat, yeah, but I’m paying.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I'd like to apologize for the huge delay with my most sincere feelings. I feel so terrible taking almost two months to update and finish this, but life happened and I couldn't write for the life of me for a while. 
> 
> Again, this is for Bianca who puts up with my constant yelling about Markbum.   
> Also huge thanks to Britta for proof reading and calling me out.
> 
> Enjoy!

How his days became full of Mark and Jackson is still a mystery to Jaebum, even as classes pick up and he’s running up and down campus with books and his camera, from lectures to workshops to random parts of town so he can practice his photography.

Jaebum will bump into them, or have his phone blown up by texts from Jackson all day and one or two from Mark, who is the least present on their group chat with Jinyoung, but will still message him privately with silly jokes and ice cream offers - which Jaebum accepts more often than not.

He is coming back to his room from a coffee break with Jackson, who talked his ears off about a quarrel during fencing practice, full of newly acquired useless information about people he doesn't know, when he bumps into Mark. 

“Oh, hi!” He smiles brightly and he can already  feel his stomach doing that weird thing again.

For the past two weeks, it  feels like his entire body has been doing weird things around Mark.

He has no time to dwell on it though as Mark shoves his friend away with a laugh and a promise to see him later and turns excitedly to Jaebum.

“Has Jackson called you?” He asks and Jaebum raises an eyebrow, an amused smile showing on his lips.

“No… Why?”

Mark sighs and rolls his eyes, his face contorting in fake annoyance.

“He was supposed to invite you to watch a movie tonight. Jinyoung and I are heading to his room around 7 with pizza.” 

“That’s funny,” he says, his mind  traveling somewhere else while he thinks if he can afford to push his homework back to spend some time with Mark. “I was with Jackson until five minutes ago and he didn't say anything.”

“Of course he didn't. Please, remind me later to  kick him .” Mark laughs, and it brings Jaebum to do the same and he nods.

“I will!” 

His laugh stops when Mark’s hand touch his shoulder seemingly  out of the blue , pushing him a couple steps to the side. Jaebum’s heart starts beating too fast for his liking, after skipping a couple beats with the touch, and even after noticing Mark was simply trying to avoid getting hit by some people bicycling by, his skin  feels ticklish where Mark’s fingers were just seconds ago.

“So are you coming?” Mark smiles at him and Jaebum would dare to say he looks hopeful, his eyes eager and teeth digging into his bottom lip a little too strong.

“Yeah…” He manages weakly, trying to contain his smile. “I can go yeah, but I have work to do and it’s  Thursday so I can't stay late.”

“No problem!”

-

Turns out, it becomes a problem later when Mark knocks on his door. 

Jaebum is trying to get a head start on a paper that he has to submit, so he can spend more time at Jackson’s, when he is faced with Mark’s flushed cheeks and barked laughs.

He is a little breathless too, looking behind his back to Jackson’s door.

“Can I come in?” He asks and Jaebum steps aside, letting him in. “Jackson and Jinyoung are… busy. We need to try again in half an hour.”

Jaebum raises an eyebrow, even more confused now. They have time, it’s a little before half six still so he isn't sure why Mark stopped by so early.

“Busy?” He closes the door and rests his back against it.

“Yeah…” Mark stops laughing, his expression a little bashful. “Like doing couple stuff?”

It’s Jaebum’s turn to blush, the  heat creeping up from his chest all the way to his face, as he groans and drops his head back. 

“Can’t say it was the first time I opened a door to find them half naked, but it’s always awful.”

“I didn't  wanna know that,” Jaebum cries, bringing out a loud laugh out of Mark.

“Can I?” 

Mark signals the bed as he takes his shoes off, setting them next to the door. His eyes wander to Jaebum’s desk next, and he  bites his lips , retrieving his phone from his back pocket and throwing it on the pillow.

“Go ahead!” Jaebum sits down again and his attention goes from Mark to his coursework and back to Mark, the corners of his mouth contorting in an apologetic smile.

“Don't worry, I’ll just stay here quiet and you can do your stuff. It's Jinyoung’s fault, anyway.” 

“Thank you, I’ll try to get it done quickly.” 

Jaebum gets to work, but somehow he keeps getting distracted by Mark’s giggles, even the way he breathes or moves in bed making the sheets shuffle. It’s not Mark’s fault, really, Jaebum can  feel he is trying to be as quiet as possible and the thing is, he is. It’s Jaebum who can't stop thinking, and over thinking, and paying attention to his every move.

The coursework is forgotten as soon as he listens to the first click of his camera behind him. His head snaps back so fast he is sure he pulled a muscle, but he opens a huge smile when he sees Mark hiding behind the huge camera with a bright smile.

“Keep working, I’m just  gonna play with it,” He clicks the button again, and Jaebum as instinct hides his face with both of his hands. “Unless you don't want me to?” 

He groans and shakes his head, moving his hand in a  _ go ahead  _ signal.

“You don't seem so sure,” Mark raises an eyebrow at him, holding the camera down on his lap.

“I'm usually on the other side of the camera so this is weird, but I really don't mind.”  He smiles when Mark excitedly picks the camera up again, starting to click again instantly. “I'm almost done by the way, then we can hang out.”

Jaebum tries to focus on his paper, but he really can't. His brain playing a game with him and bringing back images of Mark’s flushed cheeks when he first showed up, or how efortlessly good looking he looked taking his leather jacket off to stay in his sweatshirt only, or even his smile as he had fun with the camera and he sighs frustrated, shutting his laptop down.

“Everything okay?” Mark asks him between clicks of the camera and when Jaebum turns to him, Mark is taking pictures of Jaebum’s back way too close.

The camera hides most of his face, looking too big for his small frame and it leaves Jaebum with that same stomach knot from before.

“You look cute as a photographer,” he blurts out without thinking, his eyes going wide as soon as he  realizes what he said.

Jaebum tries to correct it, saying “No, I mean…” at the same time Mark smiles shyly at him with a “Thanks!”

His expression shifts short after, a little confused. 

“No, you mean?” He questions Jaebum. “So you don't think I'm cute?”

While he can tell Mark is only teasing, his eyes glittering with mischief behind the daring expression, Jaebum can't help but blush and stutter, trying to speak and failing.

“You are cute too.” Mark takes another picture with a giggle and then gets rid of the camera, setting it on top of Jaebum’s drawer. “So you are done?”

Jaebum nods and sits down on the edge of his bed, his hands impatiently playing with the covers while Mark stands in front of him, expression serious and looking full of thoughts. 

After what it  feels like an eternity, but it's probably only a few seconds, he speaks up, offering to put some music on.

They argue for a while, full of laughs and touches, Mark’s hands staying for a second too long and pressing down on Jaebum’s shoulder when he shoves him after Jaebum  criticizes Mark’s taste in music.

Finally, they settle on a playlist that fits both tastes and sit down on Jaebum’s bed, Mark making himself  feel at home instantly and half lying down and resting his chin on his hand. 

His back is touching the wall behind the bed and body fully turned to Jaebum. He opens a lazy smile, looking up at Jaebum with careful eyes.

“Can I ask you a weird question?” Mark says and Jaebum just nods, not worrying a lot about whatever is coming because by now, he knows Mark has a tendency of  making a big deal out of nothing when it comes to him. 

He takes a deep breath and giggles a little before opening his mouth.

“Do you smoke weed?” 

Jaebum’s eyes go wide, and he chokes a little, his coughing startling Mark. That certainly was unexpected.

“Not really,” he answers at the same time Mark starts to  apologize , touching his shoulders again softly. “Why?”

“That’s what Jinyoung, and I were going to do before the movie, that’s why I came early.”

“Not Jackson?” He asks curiously and Jaebum finds it funny, really, because while some of his friends back home also smoke and he has learned not to mind, he would've never pictured Jinyoung doing that.

“He can't,” Mark shrugs and shifts a little in back, hands leaving Jaebum and going back to his previous position. “Fencing and all.”

“Oh!” 

“Yeah, so it’s usually Jinyoung and I smoking and Jackson just hangs out, then cuddles him because Jinyoung gets needy when he is high.” Mark makes a closed mouth sound that sounds like a scoff, but Jaebum can tell there is no heat behind his action.

“If you  wanna smoke I don't care though, I can replace Jackson and just hang out.” He offers because he doesn't really mind it, and he also finds it difficult to deny Mark anything when they are this close, with their legs touching and making Jaebum’s entire body burn in a weird  feeling .

“Will you cuddle me too if I get needy?” Mark teases with a high pitched voice, his smile big and warm.

“ In your dreams !” He shoots back, and it brings out a loud laugh from Mark, who puts his tongue out and rolls his eyes.

“I  feel weird smoking alone though,” Mark says, but he already has a small box and a bright pink  lighter out .

Jaebum laughs at him and gets up, opening his window a little so the smoke isn't all inside. “I can smoke a little, but I’m warning you weed does nothing for me.”

Mark looks at him weirdly, a funny smile on his lips. “Then you’re smoking it wrong!” 

“You talk so much shit, how do you even smoke things wrong?” 

“I don't know, but you are.” 

Mark is sitting on the bed when Jaebum comes back, adjusting himself with his  back against the wall , mimicking Mark’s position. Their shoulders and knees are touching slightly, and he can see when Mark opens a dumb smile, looking down at their legs.

“So if Jinyoung gets needy, what do you do when you are high?” Jaebum asks when Mark lights the  perfectly rolled joint up, he waits for it to burn a little before taking a slow, long drag.

Mark smiles as the smoke fills the room and he giggles, his restless legs bumping into Jaebum’s repeatedly. 

“I talk,” he says simply.

“You talk?” Jaebum asks, raising an eyebrow.

It’s hard to picture Mark talking too much, even when he gets excited about things, Jaebum has come to notice he will show it in other ways. While normal people would talk nonstop, Mark is one for screaming incoherently and gesturing, laughing a lot and on occasion getting physical, but never talking without considering each or his words carefully.

“Yeah, I guess my brain just kinda let it all go unfiltered?” He takes another drag and Jaebum has to stop himself from staring as Mark’s plush lips closed around the joint.

Jaebum accepts when Mark hands him the joint and he snorts at how cliche it is when Mark’s fingers touch his in the process, a weird wave of electricity running through his body just like every other time they are skin to skin. 

When Jaebum inhales the weed for the first time, he can  feel how much stronger it is than what he tried back home. It makes him a little uneasy, a small cough escaping his mouth as he lets the smoke out.

“We are not going back to Jackson’s, are we?” He asks after a moment, when he sees Mark lying down and spreading out on his bed.

Mark quirks a crooked smile looking up to Jaebum, his soft hair falling into his eyes as he shakes his head. “Probably not,” he says.

Jaebum reaches out for Mark’s hair, fixing his fringe to the side and he watches Mark’s eyes closing instantly with the touch. He lets out a small, surprised huff of air and Jaebum smiles, pressing his lips together to contain it.

“I don't think they will miss us much, anyway.”

In a little over three hours, they've managed to smoke two whole joints between them and finish an entire pizza, while talking about a million different subjects.

Jaebum, as the weed started to mellow  him out , lost Mark somewhere along the way, finding it hard to keep up with the influx of information and ideas coming from him.  It’s a new side to Mark, and Jaebum has come to find he enjoys it even though he can’t really tell what Mark is even talking about now.  Maybe next time, he thinks, he’ll smoke less so he can pay attention and learn more about Mark.

He also finds himself with his head on Mark’s lap, looking up to him more often than not when his eyes are open, as Mark plays with his hair, fingers sometimes massaging his scalp. Jaebum finds it easy to allow himself into the touch when he is not supposed to be responsible for his actions when he can just let it be and enjoy the moment.

“Can I crash here? I don’t think I should drive now,” Mark says, his mouth slurring. “I can go to Jackson’s too, if it’s a problem for you.”

“Do you not have a house?” Jaebum asks before he can stop himself, his eyes shooting open as Mark barks out a surprised laugh. “You are always sleeping at people’s places.” 

“I can leave if you want me to?” says Mark, his voice suddenly quiet.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” Jaebum tries to sit down, his inert body moving the smallest bit, but Mark pushes him back down with little force, just really holding his shoulder in place. “You can sleep here, of course.”

Mark shoots him a weird look and Jaebum can practically see the thoughts running inside his brain as he over thinks what he said. 

“What do you mean then?” His other hand are no longer playing with Jaebum’s hair, and even though his smile is still present, it’s not the effortless one Jaebum has come to know.

Jaebum’s eyes go from Mark’s face to the ceiling, and back, and he bites his lips.

“I don't mean it as a bad thing, it’s just something you do,” he offers still a little uncertain.

“But you said it,” Mark chuckles when Jaebum’s mouth went open and close again instantly, as if he knew he couldn't fight it back. “I really don't want you to  feel like you have to host me, I can knock at Jackson’s door or call some other friend.”

“Please stay!” He knows his voice sounds desperate, embarrassingly so even, but when Mark’s mouth quirks up in an easy smile again, he fights back the heat on his cheek and just smiles back. 

There is a beat of silence between them again, just their short breaths and the background music filling the room, with the occasional low sound his hair makes when Mark strokes his soft fingertips over the short strands again.

“It’s usually because I drink or smoke, and I shouldn't drive so I stay,” Mark offers an explanation and Jaebum kinda  feels bad, as he thought the subject was done.

“I'm glad you practice safe driving even after breaking the law.”

Mark’s loud laugh echoes over the sound of music and around the room, his body shrieking with the force of it.

“Shut up,” he slaps Jaebum’s arm and shoves his body a little. “Get up, we need to fit two in your tiny bed.” 

Jaebum wasn't expecting to share a bed, but he looks around the room and there’s nowhere else for Mark to sleep anyway and he can’t make a guest sleep on the floor.

They shuffle around, after Mark discards his sweatshirt and lies down on the far edge of the bed, and Jaebum leaves as much space as he can between them without falling out. At least Mark is sober enough not to cuddle him again, he thinks, as he drifts away.

When the morning comes, Jaebum’s thoughts from the previous night are quickly proven wrong. 

At first, his surroundings are blurry and he needs a moment to catch up, and make sense of why there’s a  heavy weight on him.

When he does, he realizes Mark is spooning him from behind, face cuddling into Jaebum’s neck and arms strongly curling around his body. He is fast asleep still, as Jaebum can  feel the short huffs of breaths on his neck every other second, the warmth of it sending shivers through his body now that he is awake enough to understand what’s going on.

His body freezes in place and he ponders for a second or two if he should move, leave the bed and act like the cuddling didn't happen, a lot like Mark did the first time they shared a bed, but when Mark's strong hold pull him closer, all Jaebum can do is take a deep breath and close his eyes again, allowing himself to be held.

They stay like that for what it  feels like an eternity, Jaebum’s thoughts as full of Mark as his bed, and it should be overwhelming but somehow he  feels comforted. It doesn’t last long as Mark’s breath hitches a couple times and Jaebum can tell he is waking up.

“You up?” He yawns out, voice nothing more than a raspy, deep from sleep whisper.

Jaebum hums back and as a reflex, Mark removes his arms from around him, making Jaebum quietly whine but still loud enough for it to bring out a snort out of Mark.

He turns in bed to face Mark, their sleepy smiles growing together as they stare at each other. Jaebum wants to say something and he even opens his mouth slightly, but no sound comes out, as he realizes he doesn’t have anything substantial to say.

Jaebum rolls onto his back, stretching his arms over his head and yawns once more, his back arching in the process and shirt riding up on the front, leaving some skin exposed. He  feels Mark’s eyes on him, before he picks up his cellphone from under the pillow, and tries to uselessly fight the furious red coloring his cheeks.

“Hm, Mark?” He calls, looking surprisedly at his own phone. “Jackson called me 16 times last night.”

Jaebum lets out a shocked laugh, turning his phone so Mark can check the screen and Mark barks out a cheerily laugh, smiling funnily at his own phone.

"Seven for me,” he says without looking up, thumbing down on his phone quickly.

“That’s…” Jaebum makes a pause, thinking of an appropriate adjective but lacking words.

“Jackson, that’s Jackson.” Mark completes his sentence and they laugh together, Jaebum’s grin so big he  feels like his face will stretch permanently if he spends enough time around Mark.

“I was gonna say too much, but Jackson works too.”

Mark’s phone start ringing and Mark whispers something that sounds a lot like ‘ _ speaking of the devil’  _ when he picks it up, already giggling.

“I asked you first, why did you call JB more times than you called me? I know, I know, but I’m wounded. Shut up!” Mark is laughing between every word, and even though Jaebum can’t make out the exact words Jackson is saying, his voice is loud enough that the sounds are filling his room. “Yeah, we smoked a bit and then fell asleep. No, we didn’t watch the movie without you. Tonight works for me. Yeah, I’ll ask him.”

Mark looks at him expectantly and Jaebum only nods, even though he still needs to finish some of his coursework. Looking at the clock, he thinks he can do it if he skips the study group and starts doing things right away.

He tells Mark as much as soon as he hangs up the phone, and Mark gets up quickly, searching for sweatshirt and socks that somehow he lost along the night.

Jaebum is still in bed when Mark finishes dressing up, a lazy smile playing on his lips. He kicks his legs out to finally get up, but ends up hitting Mark in the process, getting a loud shout out of him.

“I know I should leave but you don’t need to literally kick me out,” he laughs shrugging his leather jacket on.

“It was an accident!” Jaebum answers in a high pitched tone before he sits down and mumbles, “you don’t have to go though.”

Mark’s eyes light up in amusement while he walks a couple steps backwards to the door, stopping when his back hits the wall next to it.

“I got some stuff to do,” he says thoughtfully, dragging his teeth on his bottom lip. “And you have to finish your coursework before I come and pick you guys up.”

“Pick us up? For what?”

“We are watching the movie at my place, I don't trust Jackson and Jinyoung not to stand us up again,” Mark laughs and his face does a weird movement with his lips quirking up and eyebrows moving.

Jaebum rolls his eyes at him, whispering about how ridiculous he is. Mark smiles brightly at him, his eyes closing and nose crinkling in a cute way.

“See you at seven, yeah?”

-

When there’s a knock on his door later that day, Jaebum hears Jackson’s loud voice before seeing him, as he know learned is the usual with him. He lets Jinyoung and Jackson in, both smiling weirdly at him and Jackson already throwing a flurry of words on his direction about how sorry he was for last night, but how glad he also was that he and Mark had a good time and also how they shouldn’t ever ignore his calls again.

“Sorry,” he tries, but he isn’t really. 

Jaebum thinks Jinyoung can tell because he snorts in the back, while he takes his shoes off.

“Hi hyung!” He says and it  feels weird listening to the word so far from home, especially because when they first met, Jinyoung treated him as a friend, completely dismissing honorifics and any of the standard behavior.

“Hi hyung!” Jackson repeats the words in a mocking way and Jinyoung slaps him on the arm as a reflex, making him crackle. “Do I have to call you hyung too?”

“Ideally…” Jaebum tries, but by the look Jackson gives him and the teasing smile he is sporting, he knows that won’t stick for a single minute.

“In your dreams!”

“I’m pretty sure any dream with you is called a nightmare, Jackson.”

Jackson looks at Jaebum his expression going from neutral to complete shock, his mouth open in a perfect ‘o’ and eyes wide with amusement, contrasting with the mischievous smirk Jinyoung is trying to hide with both his hands. 

“I liked you better when you pretended not to speak English,” Jackson says stubbornly, making all of them laugh loudly.

They strike a conversation about random subjects shortly after, Jinyoung asking about Jaebum’s classes and sharing about his as well while Jackson texts non stop, his fully body resting against Jinyoung’s chest now that they are sitting down on the bed.

“Mark says he will be here in five minutes.”

“Where is he anyway?” Jinyoung asks and Jaebum is secretly glad he did, as he’s been curious about Mark’s whereabouts since he didn’t show up early like Jaebum expected him to.

“Probably with Brent, he didn’t say, but really where does Mark ever go?”

Jinyoung punches Jackson lightly and Jaebum knows he is trying to be discreet, but the reaction he gets makes it all even more obvious. He watches as the two of them have an entire conversation with their eyes, Jinyoung’s serious face breaking into an incredulous laugh and he rolls his eyes.

“Are they a thing?” Jaebum finds himself asking, he looks down to his shirt, hands playing with his own sleeves.

“I guess…”

And if the answer Jackson gives bothers him, no one has to know. Well, no one but him and Jinyoung, who’s staring at Jaebum with something that looks a lot like pity.

Mark’s apartment isn’t so small. It’s obviously more than enough for one person to live alone, but somehow they all end up glued together as they seat down on the floor, with pizza boxes, beers and juice cartons around them, to watch the movie. 

During the drive, Mark and Jaebum didn’t say much, or even looked at each other and everyone else gladly allowed Jackson to take over the conversation, but now Jaebum can’t escape as he and Mark share a blanket. 

He is still thinking about what Jackson said about Mark and Brent, as much as he hates to admit it to himself, and Mark keeps giving him puzzled looks every time he tries to make conversation and Jaebum answers it vaguely, as if he could sense the distance Jaebum is trying to put between them.

“Did you manage to finish your work?” He whispers at one point, even though just minutes before he declared no one was allowed to talk during the movie.

They all know the rule is mostly about Jackson, who is still making comments every now and then about the actors or the plot, but Jaebum can’t help but raise an eyebrow at Mark.

“Thought we weren’t supposed to talk.”

“This movie is boring,” he grins and gets another slice of pizza from the carton in front of him. “And full of plotholes.”

“And you’ve watched it before,” Jinyoung says without even sparing them a look, which makes Jaebum snort.

“Well, I haven’t so let me pay attention, but yeah, I did finish it.” 

Mark doesn’t say anything else for a while, what he does though is put his hand on Jaebum’s leg under the blanket and close even more the space between their bodies, resting his head on his shoulder. 

His fingers start moving slowly on Jaebum’s leg, first in circles then up and down and it makes Jaebum’s skin start to burn under his jeans. He allows Mark to go on, mostly because he is frozen in place, unable to take his eyes off the screen.

It’s only when Mark finds the rips on his jeans, snaking two fingers inside and touches the skin of his thigh that Jaebum’s hand flies to the top of his, halting the movements. Mark looks up at him in surprise, but quickly opens an easy grin and goes back to lying down on Jaebum, his head now more on Jaebum’s chest than shoulder.

Jaebum doesn’t remove his hand from Mark’s, nor Mark bats it away and they end up staying with their hands together, in an awkward and accidental hand holding until the movie is finally over.

“That sucked,” Jackson says when he gets up, stretching his arms and cracking his neck.

Jinyoung looks somewhat sleepy also moves places, but to pick up another beer for himself. He looks at Mark and then up to Jaebum with a fond smile, and Jaebum finds himself avoiding eye contact.

“It was a generic action movie, of course it sucked,” Jaebum dismisses Jackson’s comment, pushing Mark a little at the same time, trying to get him to get up.

“Stop it, I’m comfortable!”

“I’m not your pillow,” he retorts, voice loud and indignant.

Mark gets up, his cheeks full and lips forward in a huge pout and Jaebum is almost compelled to pull him back, but he rolls his eyes instead and tells Mark he is not five, much to his protest.

“Talking about pillows, I’m kicking you two out of our soon to be bed,” Jinyoung says, yawning against his forearm and scratching his eyes lazily.

“Oh, we are sleeping here?” Jaebum asks in surprise, as no one told him about that beforehand. He should start getting used to doing things without planning, if he wants to remain friends with them, but it’s still a foreign territory and it leaves him somewhat fidgety by the amount of spontaneity all of them show.

“No drinking and driving, remember?” Mark asks him, nodding to the empty beer bottles scattered around the floor.

Jackson and Jinyoung start removing everything from the floor and Jaebum moves to help, contrary to Mark who’s still sitting down, hugging his legs only watching them clean his own apartment.

Turns out cleaning means throwing everything on the kitchen table, and the empty bottles on the sink, while Mark finishes the last couple slices of pizza declaring it is to minimize work. Jaebum helps Jinyoung turn the couch into a bed and soon enough, they are being kicked out of the living room by a sleepy Jinyoung.

Mark’s room is about the same size as the living room, but most of it is occupied by a king sized bed with several pillows and messy colorful blankets. They trip on some clothes on the floor as well, and Mark gives him a sheepish smile, as he kicks some underwear and socks out of their way.

“Somehow we always end up sharing beds...” Mark says conversationally and throws a pair of gray sweatpants to Jaebum. 

“You say it like it wasn’t your fault,” Jaebum bites back with a laugh, neatly placing his jeans on the top of a chair near the bed.

They lie down and Mark turns off the lights, the only source of brightness coming from the streets, as the curtains are still open allowing the dim light into the room.

Mark’s bed is big enough that even though Jaebum is lying on his back, there is a space between them and it feels weird, after being so close to Mark the previous times they shared beds and it's unsettling to think that he sort of misses it.

The silence settles between them easily as they both try to fall asleep, Jaebum resigning himself to stare at the dark ceiling after a few minutes, knowing he won't be drifting away so soon with the way his mind is racing full of thoughts, doubts and questions. It’s silly how he calms down when he realizes Mark is also awake, shuffling from one side to the other and moving closer to Jaebum in the process.

Mark’s hand touches Jaebum’s wrist experimentally, only two fingers in a ghostlike touch and when Jaebum doesn't react, he snakes his fingers down and grabs Jaebum’s hand firmly. 

He turns his body to the side, the tip of his nose brushing on Jaebum’s shoulder and his quiet breath tickling the skin. 

“JB,” Mark calls at the same time Jaebum says his name in return. “Oh! You can go first.” 

“No, please you.” 

“I hope this isn't weird or anything…” Mark starts, but pauses when Jaebum snorts at the words.

He doesn't mean to be rude and interrupt him, but it feels like every time they are together is a repeat of the last, with how similar words are constantly repeated and they always end up in bed together, cuddling.

“Another weird question?” He asks lightly, squeezing Mark’s hand.

“Probably weirder than the weed, depending on your answer,” Mark says and there’s a dark edge on his voice that Jaebum can't place.

“Okay…”

“I'm just gonna say it because otherwise I’m gonna make it even worse, but nothing has to change if you say no or if you need time to think about it, we can still do the same things and hang out, especially because Jackson and Jinyoung really like you…”

“Only Jackson and Jinyoung?” He asks playfully, trying to lighten the mood and relax Mark a little.

It kind of comes out of the nowhere, this external relaxation that he shows with the question, because in reality his palms are starting to sweat and his bottom lip is hurting from how hard he is biting on it, all the rambling making him anxious.

“I mean, obviously me too since I am asking you out on a date,” is the answer he gets from Mark, who’s now holding his hand with added strength.

“When did you ask me on a date?” He blurts out in a high pitched voice, eyes widening.

“Fuck,” Mark swears under his breath. “That was what I was trying to do and I fucked it up.”

“Why are you asking me out when you have a boyfriend?” 

Jaebum feels his heart racing a little as the words come out of his mouth, the situation quickly on the way to uncomfortable and even though he really wants to, he can't bring himself to let Mark’s hand go.

It’s Mark’s turn to stare at him with wide eyes, but it doesn't last long, his eyes going expressionless. 

“Sorry, but I have a what?” 

“A boyfriend,” he repeats and Mark keeps staring at him puzzled. “Brent?”

“Oh!” He exclaims and there is a moment his face turns into acknowledgement, like he remembered he has a boyfriend, but then he chuckles. “Brent is not my boyfriend, JB.”

“No?”

“I mean we used to fool around, but definitely not my boyfriend,” Mark clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth and presses his lips against each other, clearly trying to contain his laughter.

“Fool around?” Jaebum raises an eyebrow at him, his mind racing with a hundred questions, but mostly trying to stop the weird butterflies in his stomach that are now going insane.

“Yeah, like we hooked up but it wasn't serious or anything…”

“I know what fool around means, Mark,” Jaebum says sternly. “But Jackson said…”

He says slowly, turning his body to the side so he can face Mark, who’s staring back at him with sincere eyes.

“Jackson talks too much and it’s bullshit half of the time,” Mark smirks, his head shaking negatively followed by a breathy giggle. “I'm also not a cheater.”

“I didn't mean to say that!”

It comes off a little desperate, Jaebum thinks, but he never meant to offend Mark and there is a side of him that can't bear the thought of ruining this. Not when they barely started it.

“I know you didn't, your eyes are honest,” Mark’s free hand moves up to Jaebum’s hair, pushing the strands that are falling into his eyes back. “I just wanted to clarify that… And confirm that I am unattached. Available. Single.” He pauses between each word, the smile never leaving his face.

“You are single and you want to take me out on a date?” Jaebum asks again, his breath heavier than just seconds ago.

“Well, yes, unless I completely misread the situation between us and you are not interested,” Mark scrunched his nose, but he is still smiling, a hopeful hint in his eyes. “Or you are straight, then we should like laugh it off and move on because I don't wanna lose your friendship either way.”

“I'm not,” Jaebum says and Mark’s expression shifts to confusion and he drops the hand that was playing with Jaebum’s hair. “Straight, I mean.”

Jaebum takes a deep breath, and it shouldn't be a big deal or anything, but saying it out loud is sort of weightlifting. Especially because Mark doesn't react differently, he just keeps staring and then opens a grin.

“And interested? Are you?”

Jaebum laughs and bites his bottom lip, closing his eyes for a second and nodding. He feels Mark’s hand back on his face, this time touching his jawline with only his fingertips.

“But Mark...” Jaebum whispers before he can stop himself, his voice shaky with nerves. 

“Yeah?”

“I don't think I can just fool around, it’s just not who I am.”

Mark is in silence for a second and if not by the reassuring touches going from his jaw to cheeks, Mark’s thumb softly caressing the skin, Jaebum would start panicking, thinking he ruined it already.

He opens his eyes when Mark lets go of his hand, but Jaebum finds Mark even closer, his body almost on top of him. Mark closes most of the space between their faces, enough that their noses touch for a brief second.

“We've got time, yeah? No need to rush anything,” Mark says against his cheek, his lips brushing against the skin, making Jaebum shiver and exhale a strong breath. 

“No rush, yeah…” Jaebum repeats dumbfounded, his mouth going dry as Mark touches the back of his neck, stroking the skin just behind his ear.

“You know,” Mark exclaims, voice full of content as his warm breath hits the underside Jaebum’s jaw, his lips moving along the side of his face. He presses a small kiss against Jaebum’s chin, and then another on the corner of his mouth. “I was gonna kiss you, but you don’t fool around yeah? So we should wait until after our first date.”

Jaebum’s eyes go wide, mouth opening in shock as he watches Mark licking his own lips before moving back to his side of the bed, completely deserting Jaebum from any touches. He knows Mark has a teasing smile on his lips, even though he is hiding his face on his pillow. 

He turns to Mark and extends his arm, pulling him back in one move by his shoulder until they are facing each other again. 

“Really?” Jaebum asks, one eyebrow quirking up and Mark giggles, wrapping his right arm around Jaebum’s neck.

Mark’s eyes fall shut first, but Jaebum follows instantly as their breaths start to mix with the now inexistent gap between their lips. The first touch makes Jaebum’s head spin and it’s overwhelming to feel Mark’s lips pressing firmer against his, but how easily he gets used to it is surprising, each smack of their lips together making he want to never let Mark go.

Jaebum hums a happy sound as Mark opens his mouth wider, their tongues sliding together, but it doesn’t last long as Mark starts to giggle against his mouth.

“We are not doing a lot of sleeping here…” He kisses Jaebum on the jaw once, sliding his lips to his neck. “Also not doing a great job of going slow.”

Jaebum lets out a breathless laugh, threading his fingers on Mark’s hair and pulling him back until their mouths clash again.

“This can be slow,” he says and kisses Mark again, this time slower and nips his bottom lip.

“And sleep?” Mark whispers against his mouth, a throaty sound coming out when Jaebum catches his lip between his teeth again.

“Do you care if we don’t get much?”

Mark closes his eyes again, a laugh escaping his lips and tickling Jaebum’s, who smiles back at him.

“No, not really.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Italics are past events!

In the days that follow, Jaebum meets up with Mark more than it would be normal, seeing they are supposed to be having a first date on Friday night. 

But how could he say no to anything now, when Mark looks at him with pleading eyes and kisses him, while asking for company? 

So they hang out a lot. Sometimes in Jaebum’s dorm room, Mark playing with Jaebum’s camera or just sitting next to him while Jaebum studies and finishes his coursework.

_ Jaebum is trying to focus on editing his video project, but he’s been doing it for so long the frames started to look all the same about an hour again, and Jinyoung’s image on the screen is mostly a blur. _

_ It doesn't help either that right now he has Mark hugging him from behind like a koala, hands inside his hoodie pockets and nose brushing softly against the back of his neck. _

_ “I'm almost finished for today, I think,” he sighs and crops a few more frames, deciding that the transition comes out smoother this way, when he replays it. _

_ Mark kisses the back of his neck once, twice and then trails his kisses all the way to Jaebum’s jawline.  _

_ “Take your time, yeah? I don't wanna distract you from work.” _

_ Jaebum snorts, closing his eyes for a brief second as he presses his fingertips on his temples, uselessly trying to stop the headache coming. _

_ “You are kind of a welcoming distraction,” he says and can feel Mark’s lips forming a smile against his skin. He turns his head to the side and faces Mark, his lips quirking up when he notices the blush on his face.  _

_ It doesn't take much for Mark to end the space between them, their lips clashing together with a little too much force. It takes them even less to get lost in it, to completely forget whatever else is happening outside their small bubble, while their lips move together, sometimes frantically, full of roaming hands and precise touches that make Jaebum shiver, but others so slow that he feels the world stopping around him. _

_ Mark positions himself on his lap, his legs hanging out to the side of the chair and hands firmly pressing on Jaebum’s neck as he kisses him so thoroughly and with care, that it seems like he is trying to learn every corner of Jaebum’s mouth.  _

_ He feels a little dizzy when Mark breaks the contact, kissing him shortly before jumping out of the chair. _

_ “As I don't want to be responsible for your academic failure,” Mark says with a laugh, his hands touching Jaebum’s lips as soon as he starts pouting at the loss of Mark. “I will pick up some food and come back soon, to give you time to work.” _

_ “Are you seriously leaving me?” His voice comes out whiny, and he extends both his arms to try and grab Mark back, but it’s useless as he is already at the door, blowing Jaebum kisses. _

_ “We are being counterproductive, now work and I’ll be back soon with dinner.” _

_ “And coffee!” Jaebum yells as the door closes, leaving him with his laptop and a huge smile on his face. _

Or in Mark’s apartment, playing video games and trying to cook meals that end up inedible, to the point they are forced to order takeout. 

There is also kissing. A lot of it. So much that Jaebum misses it, when they aren't together. He misses the feeling of Mark’s lips on his skin, the soft touches and reddened cheeks when they separate. 

_ “This isn’t slow,” Mark says removing his lips from Jaebum’s, his hands still holding firmly to the back of his neck.  _

_ “Why do you care so much if it’s slow or not?” Jaebum asks with a smile on his lips, as he remembers the same conversation happening just two days ago. _

_ He rests his head on Jaebum’s collar bone, puffing short, frustrated breaths against the exposed skin. _

_ “We said we would take it slow and I don’t want you to feel like we have to do anything,” he whines and takes a deep breath, eyes closing and voice dropping lower. _

_ “Right now we aren’t doing much of anything,” Jaebum jokes, but all he gets back from Mark is a loud groan. “I’m gonna start to think I’m a bad kisser, that’s why you don’t want to kiss me.” _

_ “What?” Mark practically yells, his head lifting up in a second, eyes wide and stunned.  _

_ He presses a small kiss on the corner of Jaebum’s lips, the touch last for a couple brief seconds, but enough to send a tingling feeling down his spine. _

_ Mark repeats the question, fingertips dancing on Jaebum’s neck and jaw line. _

_ “You keep trying to run away from this,” Jaebum’s eyes wander between them and he bites his bottom lip coyly. “Do you not want to kiss me, Mark?” _

_ “Ugh, of course I do,” he complains, his expression shifting into something unreadable, but still positive and warm, even though his lips are an expressionless thin line. _

_ “I’m not gonna tell you to shut up because you talk so little as it is,” Jaebum teases, making Mark laugh loudly, a high pitched giggle that takes over the room. “But if we were kissing, I wouldn’t be doing anything I am opposed to, and it would be a lot more fun than repeating the conversation from the other day.” _

_ Mark pushes Jaebum to roll over and lay on his back, and with one sharp movement he sets himself on top of him, legs on different sides of Jaebum’s body. He bends down and connects their lips for a short moment. _

_ “Fine,” he murmurs stubbornly and starts kissing Jaebum slowly, tangling his hands on his hair.  _

_ Jaebum holds Mark’s waist with both hands, pressing with some force as he laughs against Mark’s lips, not able to control the urge to laugh. _

_ “You act like you don’t want this,” he whispers without breaking the contact between their lips, Mark’s red lips forward in a pout still glued against his. _

_ “You will never know, will you?” Mark asks, stealing a quick kiss with a giggle. _

_ “I think,” Jaebum takes a deep breath, capturing Mark’s bottom lip with his teeth lightly, but still enough to bring out a breathy, content sound out of Mark. “I think I already know.” _

So when Friday finally comes and Mark knocks on his door, at seven sharp, it feels normal to open it and give him a greeting kiss, as soon as the door closes behind them.

“You look great,” Mark says against his mouth, playing with the collar of his leather jacket.

Jaebum feels his cheeks heating and he gives Mark a timid smile, hiding his head on the curve of Mark’s neck. 

“Don’t get shy on me,” Mark pokes Jaebum’s waist on both sides, his lips twitching as he fights a smile back. “Just think of it as an extension to hanging out, yeah?”

“Let’s go before I give up,” he says rolling his eyes. Jaebum kisses Mark again, just a small touch of their lips, before separating their bodies.

He holds his hand out, waiting for Mark to link their fingers and opens the door.

“I hope you are ready to be impressed.” Mark jokes, his smile mischievous and squeezes Jaebum’s hand.

“Now you better.”

In the end, Jaebum ends up impressed. Not by the restaurant, even though the place is nice and the Korean food was actually good. And also not by the thoughtfulness of Mark, for picking a place that would make Jaebum comfortable, not too fancy and one that almost feels like home.

What really impresses him, is how easy it is.

Over the course of the night, everything Mark did was more than enough to bring out smiles out of Jaebum, the anxiety he was feeling gone as soon as Mark rests his right hand on Jaebum’s thigh, fingers moving slowly.

They strike up a conversation in the car and it flows from one subject to the next until they are back to Mark’s place, Jaebum pressing Mark against the wall as soon as the door closes behind them and lips glued to each other.

It’s different this time, the way they touch each other and the intensity of their kisses. It’s not like they haven't crossed a few lines during the past week, always on the verge of breaking their  _ let’s go slow _ promise, but right now, it feels like they are heading somewhere, like after finally going on a date, they are allowed to.

The way they are kissing, and Mark’s hands - one holding Jaebum’s waist firmly and the other lost in the waves of his hair - aren't aggressive, but it's an energy that Jaebum can feel with the way his body gets hotter every time Mark lets out low, grunting sounds and it burns on his skin wherever they touch without having fabric on the way.

Jaebum’s breaks their kiss and laughs against Mark’s jaw when he whines at the loss of contact, before biting the underside of Mark’s chin and trailing kisses down his neck.

Mark’s hands slide down Jaebum’s body until they reach just under his ass, and Jaebum’s legs lift, wrapping around his waist almost instinctively, like they knew what to do.

He walks slowly, but never faltering as if Jaebum weighed nothing, kissing his collarbone and biting the warm skin.

Jaebum thinks he is gonna be thrown on the couch when Mark stops in front of it, but he actually sits down, keeping him on his lap. 

“Did you have fun tonight?” Mark asks against his neck, sucking a bruise on the spot. Jaebum lets out a sound that can only be described as a moan, pulling Mark’s head away from him by his hair.

He smashes their lips again, somewhat aggressively, and the kiss ends up a little sloppy, the awkward angle and maybe a little too much saliva, but Jaebum thinks it’s one of their best ones so far, with the way Mark is arching his back and letting out breathy, desperate sounds on his mouth.

“Why the past tense? Is the night over?” Jaebum teases, his voice not much louder than a whisper.

One of Mark’s hands touch Jaebum’s waist under his shirt, fingers strong enough to leave tiny bruises.

“I think it’s just starting.”

-

The party isn't at all too crowded when they get to the frat house, so they don't have to brave a sea of drunken people to be be able to reach the garden, which calms Jaebum down. On the other hand, that means they have to say hello to Mark’s friends and that’s the complicated part.

He didn't know what to expect from Brent, his worries so strong that he completely blanked Mark and Jinyoung as they chatted in the car, but being handed a beer and regular back pats definitely weren't it.

Mark has a protective arm around Jaebum’s waist as they walk to the back of the house, heading to the same seats by the pool as the first time they met. The difference this time is that he is the one with Mark, officially so, now that they had another talk this morning when they woke up. 

At some point, from the front door to their chairs, they lose the influx of friends hovering them and they find themselves alone, taking their seats.

“Where’s Jackson by the way?” Jaebum asks, moving around the white pool chair. 

The chair is big enough for them to sit comfortably apart, but when Mark wraps his left hand around Jaebum’s waist and pulls him closer, he doesn’t think twice before resting his back against Mark’s chest and throwing his head back on his shoulder.

“He had a late practice, but he should be here anytime now,” Jinyoung smiles at them before a loud sound of something breaking inside the house echoes above the music and makes all of them turn their heads.

“Did they break the beer pong table again?” Mark asks with a snort, eyes trying to spot something between the small crowd forming at the door that leads back inside.

Both of Jinyoung’s hands go to his mouth, as he starts laughing loudly, eyes shutting close. Mark extends his arm and hits the back of his head, only making Jinyoung laugh more.

“You say like you weren't the one who broke the table last time, Mark,” he says breathlessly and Jaebum looks at Mark, his eyes squeezing and mouth in a thin line.

“I paid for it, okay?” He raises his hands defensively, his pressed together lips barely holding back his giggles.

“How did you even do it?” Jaebum asks, his eyes still searching for whatever happened inside, as the loud voices get louder closer to the door.

“Got to intense playing, leaned a bit too much and next thing I know the table is falling down.”

“That’s a lie!” Jinyoung screams and Mark starts laughing, the sound vibrating on Jaebum’s neck as Mark presses his face against it. “He kicked the table after he lost the game.”

“Mark!” Jaebum almost screams in shock.

“It was 3 am, everyone was drunk so no one cared, and he did pay for it the next day, but he is a liar if denies kicking it.”

“Whatever,” Mark bites his lips and goes back to searching for a familiar face to ask whatever happened inside, as the crowd starts to move around. “I wanna know what the hell happened inside now, but I don't wanna get up.”

“Curiosity killed the cat,” Jackson says, showing up with a bright smile. He has a beer in hands already and two boys behind him, smiling shyly. “But they only set up the beer pong table the wrong way so it fell down, it’s already fixed though.”

“Hi honey,” Jinyoung says and Jackson walks to him, leaning down for a brief kiss. 

Jaebum keeps staring at the newcomers, unsure what to do so he elbows Mark, nodding as discreetly as possible. 

“Who are your friends, Jackson?” Mark asks waving. The taller one opens a shy smile while the boy wearing a glittery black jacket says hello, with an excited wave.

“Yugyeom and Bambam,” he says looking back at them as if he had forgotten they were there. “Yugyeom is also Korean, you guys are like invading Stanford.”

Jaebum snorts, pointing the empty spots near them for the boys to seat. Mark promptly strikes up a conversation with Bambam, who seems comfortable and happy to meet new people, and Jaebum can't help but observe the way Yugyeom is clinging to his arm, just watching everything timidly.

“How did you guys meet?” He asks him in Korean, Jinyoung’s attention also shifting to them as the familiar words reach his ears.

“Please don't tell me Jackson hit you with the kitchen door,” Jinyoung jokes and pokes Jaebum’s waist.

“Oh!” Yugyeom makes a surprised face, looking weirdly at them. “It was the bathroom one actually.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's finally done!
> 
> Thank you guys for waiting for me, and thank you so much for reading this - which ended up being a simple (boring) story about boys having fun and figuring things out.
> 
> Once again, I'm not on twitter very often - meaning I don't post a lot, but you can always hit me up if you wanna say something, or ask, or just be nice! (or scream about Mark, or Markbum. Or JB. Or GOT7.) I'm [@markbumcentral](twitter.com/markbumcentral)


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